Preparation of arginine-modified reduced graphene oxide composite filled in an on-line solid-phase extraction disk and its application in the analysis of heterocyclic aromatic amines

An arginine-modified reduced graphene oxide composite was prepared in an on-line solid-phase extraction disk and coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography for the re-enrichment of heterocyclic aromatic amines. The synthetic composite presented an excellent adsorption capability because of the ultrahigh active surface area of graphene and the abundant alkaline groups of arginine. The adsorption capacity of it was 52.7 mg 2-amino-3-methyl-imidazo[4,5-f]-quinoline per gram, nearly twice that of threonine-modified reduced graphene oxide composite, glutamic acid modified reduced graphene oxide composite, and reduced graphene oxide. This on-line method was successfully applied to the detection of a series of heterocyclic aromatic amines in beef jerky. After clean-up and re-enrichment of the on-line solid-phase extraction disk, the chromatographic background of the sample was low and the shape of chromatographic peaks was sharp. The method detection limit was in the range of 0.30-0.49 ng/g, and the recovery was in the range of 82.0-111.5%.